CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NATHAN
THERE WAS SOMETHING missing.
I leaned against the soundboard with my arms crossed as I watched the artist struggle with the take for the third time. I never believed in being the kind of CEO that ran a label from behind a desk. If something wasn’t working, I was in the room fixing it.
“Stop,” I called out to Charlie, the lead vocalist of the boy band I signed two years ago. He was hunched over the mic, catching his breath between takes. He shot me a frustrated glance, but I wasn’t moved. Not today.
He didn’t respond; he just wiped the sweat from his forehead and signaled the engineer to reset.
“I’m not hearing it,” I said flatly, leaning forward in my chair.
“Your vocals are technically fine, but you’re holding back.
You’re too safe. You need to feel the song, not just sing it.
You think listeners are gonna care about perfect technique if you don’t make them feel something?
You think this track’s gonna make it to the radio on a technicality? ”
I could see his jaw clench as he processed my words. Good. Let it sink in.
I stood up and walked over to the mic booth, positioning myself just behind the glass, making sure he could see my reflection. “You’re not just the voice. You’re the heart of this track. So stop being afraid of putting it out there. I need you to own it.”
His eyes narrowed, but I could see the shift. The doubt was replaced with a spark. That’s what I was looking for.
“I hear you, man.”
I gave him a slight nod. “Let’s do it again.”
This time, when he opened his mouth, the pain, the rawness, the hunger in his voice was undeniable. That was the take.
Once I was done making sure I had the song how I wanted it, I got onto the elevator, pressing the button that would take me back to my office.
I had just shut the door behind me when I heard a high-pitched scream.
The sound grew louder until there was a mixture of excited chatter going on outside my office door.
What the fuck is going on out there?
I pressed the button on my desk to buzz Elise into my office. Maybe she could tell me why people were losing their minds during the middle of the day and who exactly I needed to fire.
A minute passed, and still no Elise.
I buzzed again.
Nothing.
I silently cursed under my breath as I stood and headed back out of my office. It didn’t take long for me to see what caused the frenzy in my building.
Hollywood Royalty, Owen Bailey, was in the main area, reeking of confidence and entitlement as he held a bouquet of white lilies in a glass vase.
I watched as the women in the office stopped and stared, dropped important documents and giggled as they watched the actor command the room as if he belonged there.
“Owen!” A honeyed voice squealed in excitement. I turned my head, searching for the source of the voice and of course, it was Elise.
She was back to her work attire of a black pencil skirt and silk button-up blouse. That’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind seeing her in that blue mini dress she wore the other day.
My mind flashed back to the moment in her kitchen when her eyes latched on me and her breathing hollowed out when I told her the sound of her moaning was the most beautiful sound I’d heard.
I shouldn’t have said it. The words hung in the air like smoke, impossible to take back. But then I saw Owen in the office with Elise and suddenly my slip up didn’t feel like the most pressing problem anymore, because the fucker was back. With flowers.
My vision blurred with rage as I watched Elise accept the flowers and set them on her desk before she wrapped her arms around Owen. He whispered something in her ear and annoyance churned in my stomach at her laughter that floated through the air. What the fuck did he say that was so funny?
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” My voice struck like thunder, loud enough to make the room flinch.
My employees took one look at my face before they scrambled back to their desks as if they hadn’t just wasted the company’s dime by fawning over the movie star.
That’s okay, though; the place was loaded with cameras.
I could see who would still be on the company’s payroll by tomorrow morning and who would be serving lattes at Bakery Bliss.
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Owen spoke up, looking at me pointedly.
Going over to Elise’s place to search for potential new artists for the label was simply a tactic to remind her of how well we work together, but keeping her from going out with the actor whose roster of rotating women was practically stereotypical was an unexpected bonus.
I cast a glance at Elise who seemed to have frozen in place. Whatever she saw on my face made her put a notable amount of distance between her and Owen, but it still wasn’t enough.
I felt a surge of something dark and hot twist inside me as I watched her remove her arms from around him. It wasn’t the distance that bothered me, it was the fact that she ever let him get that close in the first place.
I smoothed my features, not wanting to scare her, though the heat of my irritation still simmered under the surface.
“Owen was just dropping off some flowers and asking me out to lunch since we didn’t get to go out Saturday,” She motioned towards the vase of lilies. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
I said nothing.
“That’s okay. It seems like not appreciating the beauty in front of him is a growing theme for your boss.” Owen smirked.
Actor found dead floating in his pool in the morning. Sources say he’s been dead for hours.
The headline flashed through my mind, along with the image of his lifeless body floating in his oversized pool. Normally, I wouldn’t like to get my hands dirty because I have men for that, but I was willing to make an exception for the actor.
I tampered down the murderous urge running through my mind and marshaled my expression to something calmer before I replied.
“That was nice of Mr. Bailey to stop by. I wish I had as much free time as him, but I’m too busy running a million-dollar company.
” Owen tried to level me with a cool expression but I continued as if I didn’t see it.
“And anyways, I’m sorry you came all the way out here, because I’m afraid Elise has too much work that needs to be done, so she won't be able to have lunch with you.”
“Actually Mr. Edge, I’ve done all the work that needed to be done.” Elise finally spoke up.
“The final edits on Rhodium’s contract for the soundtrack of the film?”
“Sent to your email, ready for review.” Elise answered without missing a beat.
“The press release for Nia’s EP launch?”
“Drafted, with a few revisions from the marketing team. It’s ready for your sign-off.”
Fuck. There really was no other reason for her not to go other than the fact that I didn’t want her to.
“Sounds to me like you’re free. Shall we go?” Owen turned to smile at Elise. It was the kind of smile that sent women into mass hysteria but surely someone like Elise was immune.
“Okay,” Elise looked as if she was seconds away from melting into a pool at his feet. Guess I was wrong about immunity. The flames of anger burned hotter when Owen rested his hand on Elise’s waist. “Unless you need me for something else?” She looked at me.
I opened my mouth. To say what? I’m not entirely sure. I couldn’t tell her to stay without a valid reason and I didn’t have one, at least not one that made sense.
“No. Go ahead. I don’t need you.”
I turned and headed back to my office without another word, but not before I caught a glimpse of the hurt that flickered in Elise’s eyes.